Pilgrimage to Israel - Easter 2005

Norsk versjon

I ended up having a, for me, rather unusual and interesting Easter trip in 2005 after my brother-in-law Olav Andreas Dovland made a suggestion. It was also a little bit exciting so I had to give it some thought before I agreed to come along. I had to consider it first, but if I had said 'NO' I would most definitely have regretted not going. I often say: 'Make the most of your time while you've got it'. So I packed my suitcase.

On the 17th of March I left home on a bus and travelled to Kristiansand. I stayed overnight and travelled by train to Oslo airport (Gardermoen) the next day. There were 33 eager people in our party. We checked in with passports, tickets and luggage without too much hassle.

This was the first pilgrimage for myself and many of my travel companions. We were anxious to proceed with our adventure. This was the 8th time Olav Andreas was making the trip so he could help answer our questions, of which there were many. In addition, I came prepared as i had read the book by Oslo bishop Kvarme. We turned to it often to find very useful information.

We arrived in Frankfurt were we had to change planes. We were transferring to an Airbus A330 to travel on to Ben Gurion Airport. However it wasn't going to be either a fast or an easy process. We had to go through very thorough security checks before we could board the plane. The plane was also chock-full. Finally, we took off from Frankfurt and landed safely in Tel Aviv early in the morning on the 19th of March. In actual fact, it was just 4 am so we drove around in the bus for a while before we finally arrived at the hotel at 7 am. We were staying at Tal Hotel (see photos).

Our first hotel. Olav Andreas Dovland together with Gudrun and John Ryen from Os in Østerdalen	First test of the bed at the hotel. I am relaxing after a long bus/train/plane/buss trip from Rygnestad to Tel Aviv.

We had breakfast at 7 am when we arrived at the hotel, and then there was time for snooze after the long trip. It is far between Rygnestad and Tel Aviv - first with a buss, then with a train, then with two planes and finally another buss... Everything was so new and exciting so we didn't get much sleep anyway. I went for a little walk in the afternoon along the Mediterranean Sea. The beach was beautiful and the temperature was great for a visiting Norwegian straight in from the cold winter.

Then began the activities. We gathered for our first presentation. Among other things we learnt to always wear appropriate clothing when visiting sacred sites. Both shoulders and knees should be covered. With so many travel companions we had to spend quite some time getting to know each other. People came from Sør Trøndelag, Østerdalen, Tana, Oslo, Moss, yes an a Setesdøl too. We also met our guide at the presentation. Her name was Rina Rech and she turned out to be an excellent guide. She was born in Sweden and was now living in a Kibbutz with her husband. She could speak several languages: Swedish, English and Hebrew. She told us that her mother was among one of the few who were rescued from Auschwitz. We were also introduced to our bus driver. He knew is job very well and the bus was very comfortable. (see photos)

Our bus	Our bus driver.

On Sunday the 20th of March we travelled north from Tel Aviv to Akko. (see photos)

Aqueduct north of Tel Aviv The old aqueduct was many kilometres long - huge dimensions and built by hand as was every thing else we saw.	The Bahai Shrine. The Bahai Shrine in Haifa was most impressive and very well-kept. The park was wonderful.

We then drove eastwards from Akko through Galilea and crossed the river Jordan. The river was almost completely dry. We ended up on the Golan Heights. Towards the north we could see snow on Hermon Mountain. It stood in contrast to the dry river bed.

Syria lay towards the east. There were so many signs of war around us. It is incredible to think that this happened no long ago. After a little break our trip sent us criss-crossing the area north of the Sea of Genesaret. There were so many places that we had read about in the bible and the bibilical history.

View towards Syria in the East The road is the border to Syria as seen from the Golan Heights.	The first waterfall we saw - in Gallilea. ... this was not exactly a copy of Vøringsfossen!! (A famous norwegian waterfall)
Everybody lining up for the photo	Many building traditions with examples from different ages.

Next we hit the waves. We boarded a boat to sail around on the Sea of Genesaret. The trip included a visit to a aquaculture farm at Ein Gev (Kibbutz). It covered a very large area. The water they used was purified and recycled. The farm manager was the husband of our guide, and he was also familiar with aquaculture in Norway.

Aquaculture in Ein Gev.

Our boat.	Boating on the Sea of Genesaret.

Our hotel at Ein Gev (Kibbutz) was like paradise. (see photos).

Olav Andreas at the hotel in Ein Gev.	Me at the hotel in Ein Gev.

View over the desert. We travelled to Maseda in a cablecar. The view was magnificent even if it was rather dry.	Floating like a cork!!! One of the goals of the trip was to swim in the Dead Sea. It was fun to try to float on top of the water - while reading my map! The warning was that if we drank more than half a cup of the water we would have to seek medical treatment...

We continued on to Jerusalem. There was a lot to see of all the things we have learnt about in the newspaper and TV. We were all a bit emotional when walking along Via Dolorosa where Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha. We also visited the Wailing Wall where we had to wear kipa (Jewish cap). It was a dramatic city - and it has been so at all times. The bus driver and the bus were not allowed to drive across to Palestine so we had to change into a different buss at the border before entering Bethlehem. It was a shock to see how run down and derelict the place was. There were so many beggars - as young as 5-6 years old.

View over Jerusalem.

Gethsemane. The tourists - us included - were treated to a special demonstration with a draught animal.	Church of the Nativity in Betlehem The Church of the Nativity was a great experience! I was overwhelmed to see the decorations (arkantus) especially since I am so interested in wood carvings.

We saw the old part of the city with so many people and so much noise and all the conflicts that exist. In the evening we were also treated to a bus tour of the new Jerusalem. These were two such different worlds. Later we gathered on the Mountain of Olives. It was a moving moment. Those of us who were on our first pilgrimage were also now recognised as real pilgrims. Sunday the 27th of March was the most heartrending part of the whole trip. We walked through the Holocaust Centre in Jerusalem. They had lit three candles surrounded by mirrors to give one million reflections for all the small children who were killed by the Nazis. The names, ages and origins of all the children were read out loud too. It would have taken them many weeks to get through the list. It was horrible. We also walked through the section about the adult victims. They showed film with sound and picture from the consentration camps. I suddenly remembered the fear I felt when the Nazis and German soldiers came to our own house on a raid. It was terrible even if we didn't have such terrible acts of war in our village. I had to leave the exhibition after a while - sat outside crying. WE MUST NEVER FORGET THIS.

The Holocaust Centre in Jerusalem.

The Holy Land

This is a country that is deeply divided - marked by war and natural disasters over many thousands of years. Earthquakes have brought much destruction. The problems they have here appear to be unsolvable. Religion and war are not all to blame. The battle over natural resources is also ongoing.

We were guarded carefully by armed police and military personnel. There were many pushy beggars working the streets in gangs. I was very close to being mugged a few times. The rule was to never carry more valuables on us than we could afford to lose.

One day when we were walking around in Jerusalem I suddenly noticed that I was wearing my pyjamas top!! My excuse is that it looks a lot like a T-shirt. I am probably the first tourist to ever have walked the streets of Jerusalem in that garment!! I am very curious to find out what Janet thinks of this. It probably goes to show that I need someone to look after me.

I am so happy that I got to see the Holy Land with my own eyes. Thanks to Olav Andreas who told me so much about the country. He has great knowledge about the country and its people. I returned home with many good impressions and I leant more about the local conflicts. Thanks also to Janet who had to be alone all Easter. Travelling is always very valuable to me.